Welcome back, comfort heel enthusiasts! This is a sequel to my previous post where I compare shoes advertised as "comfort heels". The next chapter in our foot-friendly fashion quest is comparing the INEZ slingback pump and the Antonia Saint NY stiletto.

Disclaimer The products mentioned in this blog post were purchased by me for an honest review and my own opinion, with no compensation from the brands discussed.

INEZ

This brand has a wide variety of heels, sandals, and boots, touting "comfort by design" as its tagline. I will be reviewing the Mia model in Silver Woven. The comfort feature is a "proprietary plush insole with arch support". The heel height is 2.8", no hidden platform. I bought the standard width in a size 9.5 (this is a half-size down for me) for $220 (regular price $258, I found a coupon code!)

The reason I chose this style is because it resembles a Stuart Weitzman shoe I was considering initially for this occasion, but INEZ is 1/3 of the price (and I assumed, more comfortable).

I was able to do a field test and wore these shoes to a holiday party that involved a lot of walking, standing, and hours of dancing. I can confidently say: these are not comfort shoes, but they're cute! Let's get into the details.

The Good

• Classy packaging, includes a dust bag and extra heel tips
• Strap worked great, even without an adjustable buckle (it was scratchy on one side when I first put the shoes on, but I didn't have any irritation after wearing it to the party)
• Excellent arch support, as promised

The Bad

• High price for a textile upper
• Upper became distorted after one wear
• No other (effective) comfort features besides the arch support
• Bruised several toenails, which I've never had happen with this type of shoe (I'll spare you photos of that)

Returns

Easy to both return and exchange for a bigger size using the intuitive web portal. 30 day window for returns/exchanges.

Note: I also purchased Diana in Black Suede, but returned them. They are beautiful shoes, but the higher heel was very uncomfortable — even for short amounts of time.

Antonia Saint NY (ASNY)

Post-purchase, I went down the Google rabbit hole to see the experience of my fellow shoppers, and I must admit, a smidge of nervousness crept in 😬 It seems the brand got its start by crowdfunding a custom high heel insole that's fit to the wearer's foot via a phone app. Alas, the delivery of that promise was fashionably late (for those that did receive the custom insoles). Since then, the company has pivoted to selling ready-to-wear shoes. Yet the online buzz was strangely silent about that product line, so I felt it was timely to make this post.

ASNY offers a wide variety of styles including booties, sandals, sneakers, heels, and flats. They offer a patented inner construction that "feels soft like a sneaker".

I bought the Sweetheart Stiletto in Black Ultrasuede, standard (B) width, size 10 for $198. This style has a 3.5" heel.

The Good

• I like the look of the textured heel (ASNY says it's Ballistic Nylon, which is resistant to nicks — I am definitely prone to scuffing the heel, so I'm excited for that)

• Pleasantly surprised with the inside of the shoe — it is very supportive and cradles the foot nicely
• I don't know if there's an internal platform, but it's true it doesn't feel like a 3.5" heel
• Flattering design, love the shape and height of the vamp
• The cushion at the back of the heel is a fantastic design feature! I wish more shoes had this, so the heel didn't slip off

The Bad

• I wish they had more colors/materials to choose from
• The suede attracts dust and cat hair like a magnet (why do both brands have so many suede options? Is it because it starts to look like crap so quickly, you have to buy more shoes?)

Returns

Similar kind of easy exchange/return portal as INEZ. Shorter return window for full refund/exchange (14 days), but still 30 days to return/exchange for store credit.

Note: I also purchased Sweetheart Block Heel in Neutral, tried to exchange them because the 9.5 was a half-size too small , but my size was out of stock when I returned them.

The Verdict

Antonia Saint NY wins this showdown! I was expecting these to be gimmicky and have useless padding, but I have never encountered heels that support the foot quite like these. I will be on the lookout for sales to purchase more. I hope they expand their product line; I would have worn them to my holiday party if they had a non-wedding color that matched my dress.

ASNY also sells the insole ($48) that you can add to shoes separately, but considering the shoe has so many other features that made them "worth it" (like the back-of-the-heel padding and padding at the top of the shoe), I'm not chomping at the bit to try it.

Unfortunately INEZ is not really a comfort shoe. Besides the arch support, the padding is too stiff to provide any amount of comfort. They are sufficient as a special-occasion shoe, but I don't see much value in them as a comfortable every-day shoe that's worth the price.

Is there a comfort heel brand you've wanted to try but don't want to take a risk on the unknown? Drop me a comment below and I'll check it out!

Until next time, stay comfortable, friends!

The other corporate goth fashion post generates a substantial amount of traffic for this blog, and I realize I've been slacking on fashion content. I struggle because I'm not any sort of authority on this, BUT I do want to help other people who are trying to balance expressing themselves while maintaining professional attire in the workplace.

So, I want to share my favorite outfits that I have actually worn to work, and give you some ideas for how to put together your own interpretation.

Romantic Dress

I put this outfit together as part of a fashion subreddit challenge where the theme was "romance" (this was around Valentine's Day). I've had this red Reformation dress sitting in my closet for a long time. Originally I bought the dress for summer, but the dress is so low-cut and thin that it's really difficult to wear on its own. On the plus side, the dress moves beautifully when I walk, and the length of the skirt is nice and conservative.

Layering with a camisole (or a slip) and a belted cardigan makes it perfectly work-acceptable, and looks and feels wonderfully feminine.

Make It Yours

Go into your closet — don't just rely on your memory of what you have — and look! Find a dress or a skirt with a fun and flowy silhouette. Pair it with boots or black tights, and a black cardigan or black blazer on top. You can also try layering a black t-shirt or a black long-sleeve shirt underneath the dress.

Statement Blazer (and All Black Everything)

I've been in love with this blazer ever since I sewed it, but I assure you I didn't invent the concept of a statement blazer. There are numerous ready-to-wear options available. Wearing all-black-everything-else provides a perfect canvas to let the blazer speak for itself.

Make It Yours

If you don't already have a loud blazer, try to look for one that isn't trendy to get lots of use out of it — avoid anything super tailored, or overly slouchy — you want something middle of the road. The blazer is also a great opportunity to get something goth-y in; try to find fabric with a subtle skull print, crosses, ravens, spiderwebs — you get the idea. Even a black blazer with a scarlet-red lining would be a fantastic choice (a black blazer with a fun lining is on my to-sew list!)

The "all black everything" can be easily changed to fit the trends of the season (in this case, wide-legged pants), but this will work just as well with a loose black camisole and tight ponte pants, or black bootcut jeans.

Leather Skirt & Button-Up

You want a look that makes people fear you are an adjudicator from a shadow government agency. A button-up blouse and a pencil skirt are pretty standard office attire, so it's easy to lend an edge by making the pencil skirt leather (pleather in my case).

There is something inherent in the goth subculture about subverting societal norms, and I believe experimenting with gender expression is a big part of that. For that reason, I love playing with ties as an accessory.

Make It Yours

Take a usual work outfit, and pick one element of it to give a bit more edge. Replace a black pencil skirt with a (p)leather one. Wear a black tie. Wear a spiky black statement necklace with the white button-up.

Color Match

In the interest of full disclosure, I bought both the blouse and the blazer at Express, so it makes sense that they'd be using the exact same color palette. Concentrating the color at the top draws the eye upward really nicely and looks harmonious.

Having the blouse sleeves peek out from the cropped blazer works to connect together all the elements of the outfit, by making it seem like the blazer has some black on it.

I always get compliments on the spider brooch, as well 🕷️

Make It Yours

If you have any clothes that are a combination of black and some other color, try to find the same or complementary colors to wear with them. Alternatively, try experimenting with adding a colored tie, or a scarf to add some cohesive elements.

Schoolgirl Chic (dare I say... Dark Academia?)

I've been wearing variations of this outfit since 2016, and it's probably one of my first corporate goth posts on Instagram. Since the skirt is pleated, my mind does go to a school uniform vibe, and over time, I've experimented with different accessories and layers.

My latest outfit features a cropped blazer, a big brooch, knee socks, T-strap Mary Janes, and a silk scarf.

Make It Yours

It's not a coincidence that many of the elements of a school uniform are also the "timeless classics." This style spans many generations without changing significantly, so it's great to use for inspiration.

Take a look through your clothing for the pieces that come to mind when you think of a school uniform, and see if you can combine them to make your own take on a uniform. Some ideas to use as a starting point: button-up shirt, pleated skirt (of any length), blazer, anything plaid, knee socks, sweater vest, cardigan, loafers, ties, slacks, and tights.

Disclaimer: This is not a "true" corset, so I'm calling it a "corset top". For the sake of brevity, I do refer to it as a corset in this post, but I acknowledge it does not meet the criteria of being a corset :)

I've had corsets on my sewing radar for a very long time; I bought a Victoria Corset Set from Sew Curvy about a month after I started learning to sew, and made a couple of toiles, but then got distracted with other projects.

Seeing corset-style tops permeate the various tiers of media has made me interested in how to make a corset that's understated enough to be work appropriate. The thought of a "business casual" corset-style top has been rattling around brain since summer, and I finally got around to finishing this project 5 months later.

Inspiration

The thought of a business casual corset (I'll refer to it as a BCC) crystallized after a re-watch of Atomic Blonde (I love every single outfit Charlize Theron wears in that movie, but I'm talking about the pinstripe ensemble), and also some scrolling through Pinterest:

Pattern

I considered using the Sew Curvy Victoria Corset pattern I had, but I wasn't confident in my ability to modify a very technical garment.

Next, I did a few toiles of the Daria Pattern Making Rose Café Bustier, and it was a disaster because I would need to do a lot of adjustments to fit it correctly. I'd still like to conquer that pattern one day, but this wasn't the time for it.

I wanted a really simple pattern, without a lot of bells and whistles, so while scrolling through free patterns, I found the Helen Castillo x Mood Fabrics Corset. I liked the style lines a lot, and that it didn't have a sweetheart neckline. I initially made a size 12 because that aligned best with my waist/hip measurements (36/29/40), but you can see it gaped quite a bit on the bust.

Size 10 fit great though, and looked a lot more like the line drawing, so that's what I ended up making.

Materials

I used some denim I had left over from making Ginger Jeans, some heavy-weight poly I had lying around, and Black Wool Twill Suiting from Mood Fabrics that I bought especially for this project.

Instead of the lacing in the back, I decided to add a zipper to make the BCC look a bit more modern. Unfortunately I could only find a 7" separating zipper in black plastic, but I would have preferred to have it be black metal (there's plenty of black metal zippers out there, but there's much less variety of separating zippers). I didn't make any modifications to the pattern to accommodate the zipper.

At first I used 1/4" Rigilene boning because that's what I had on hand, but it was flipping really badly and didn't look great in my toile. I had steel boning on hand, but it felt like a bad idea to try and use it for the first time in a project that didn't explicitly call for it. I went ahead and bought 1/2" Rigilene boning as the pattern recommends, and even though it sometimes flips when putting the corset on, I think it works OK overall and doesn't flip while I'm wearing it.

I also added 2 foam bra cups between the layers to give it a bit of a nicer shape.

Draping

Since the pattern was so simple, it needed something to make it look a bit more like suiting. I decided on adding some pleats to my BCC. I had a very specific look in mind, so it was an opportunity to try draping them on. I've also seen this sort of draping on many McQueen and Vivienne Westwood collections, and I'm all about that!

I cut out a piece of muslin, and played around with it and pinned it on top of my toile to form pleats.

It was useful to be able to try different looks – whether I wanted it closer to the side or closer to the center; whether I wanted it to cover the princess seam or not.

While the muslin was still pinned, I took a marker and drew on the fold lines and the "top" of the fabric that formed the pleats. As I unfolded it, I added more markings.

Based on the marker drawing, I made a pattern on a piece of Swedish tracing paper. As I got a more precise pattern, I played with the exact measurements, trying both narrow and wide pleats, as well as varying the spread of the pleats.

This was my final pattern for the pleating, including the measurements. The dotted lines are where the pleats are folded. I also added some space for a seam allowance so I could hem the raw edge on both sides of the pleats

After cutting the pleats out and pressing, it didn't end up exactly like the pattern because this wool was tricky to press, but once I got the two sides looking similar, I played with their positioning on the corset some more.

Construction

The Mood pattern page instructions were OK, but it felt like it was missing some important information. They mention using the "French method" of corset sewing in regards to where to put the boning, but Google didn't yield any information about how that relates to where the boning should go, so I did my best to work off of their video. This is how I ended up placing it, in case it helps anybody else:

Next Time/Lessons Learned

• Not sure about the long-term stability of that fabric. The denim I used does have a bit of a stretch to it, and the wool suiting is only medium weight. So, I'd use a heavyweight, non-stretch fabric for the middle layer (stretch denim on mine), and a heavier weight outer fabric. This will impact the pleating (the wool suiting was hard enough to press), so that needs to be taken into consideration.
• Forgot to understitch the top seam before adding the zipper :(
• There's a bit of a flip on the top. I think it might be because my outer layer is slightly shorter than the inner layer, or maybe the foam cups pull on the fabric, but I'm not 100% sure. Thankfully it's not too noticeable since this is made out of black fabric.
• Regardless, adding foam bra cups was a great choice. It helps prevent the boning from showing through on the top. I made sure to try the corset on after pinning the foam cups to make sure I placed them in the right spots and at a good height.
• I'd love to try this concept with metal boning!
• Happy I spent a long time getting the zipper as close to even as I could. When I first sewed it, the tops of the corset didn't line up, so I had to unpick and re-sew the top seam, but it's much closer to even now!

Click HERE to view/get a copy of the TEMPLATE

In the early days of learning to sew, I quickly started running into logistical problems:

What fabric/patterns/notions do I have?
In what format (paper? PDF?)
Do I have the fabric for this pattern?
Do I dig through my email, or bins in the sewing room to find a pattern?

I'd end up accidentally buying fabric/patterns I already had. I spent a bunch of time looking through boxes to see if I had a certain fabric. In short, it wasn't working for me.

Background

I initially started using Airtable in May 2019 to make a "visual wardrobe" (yes, like in Clueless) and track outfits I wear to work. I tried some different things before; including using a spreadsheet (it was too unstructured) and several apps like ClosetSpace and Stylebook. The apps were promising, however logging existing garments was difficult since the apps didn't have a desktop UI at that time, nor did they provide enough flexibility for how I wanted to interact with it and the information I wanted to track.

I went on /r/FemaleFashionAdvice and found an amazingly comprehensive post by /u/pygoscelis that outlined and provided templates for Google Sheets and Airtable wardrobe databases. Airtable met all my requirements and I found it very useful for managing my wardrobe.

But, this post isn't about visual wardrobes (that post will come eventually 😉). Since then, I've also made a "NailBase" that I use to track my nail polishes/manicures, and a "Sewing" base.

Table of Contents

Getting Started
Time Commitment
What's a database and Airtable?

My Sewing Base
    Yardage
    Patterns
    Projects
         Cost Calculated Fields
            Input Columns
                Fabric
                Fabric Amount Used
           Data Columns Used in Calculations
                Cost per Yard of Fabric Lookup
           Formulas
                Project Cost
                Remaining Yardage
    Ideas

Additional Resources

Getting Started

It can be daunting to sit in front of a pile of fabric trying to remember what type it is and where you got it. Maybe you already have a spreadsheet or a journal where you track this.

If you're reading this, you're looking for a better way to organize or track your fabric, and you know your pain points with the process.

You don't need to dive-in head first and use every single table all at once. Ask yourself some questions to get you a quick win to see if a) the Airtable approach will work for you, and b) if you are willing to invest the time and energy to keep it going/expanding on it:

• What do you spend the most time/money on? Digging through fabric to remember what you have? Buying patterns or fabric you already had (and forgot)? Buying patterns or fabrics you never use, or that aren't your taste?
• What causes you the most frustration/anxiety with your current organization method? Are you a sustainability-minded person who ends up with a lot of fabric waste? Is it difficult to find motivation/inspiration to sew? Do you forget what size you made from a certain pattern maker and end up making multiple toiles over and over?
• What is most important to you in your sewing? Making high-end garments with quality fabrics? Making well-fitting garments? Reducing your environmental impact? Making your wardrobe work for you/feeling confident in your clothes and getting the most use out of them?
• Have you tried using an Airtable base, Google Sheet, or similar digital template in the past? What worked well? What did you dislike? Why didn't it work out (if you ended up abandoning the idea)?

Keep these questions in mind as you read about how my base is set up (and as you browse through additional resources) to plan your own base — what will be useful to you, what will just be extra unnecessary work, and what aspect of this you should get started with immediately to get value out of this approach ASAP!

Time Commitment

A lot of folks feel overwhelmed at the thought of cataloging their possibly extensive collection of digital and paper patterns, fabrics, and maybe even notions. It's a time consuming process, I'm not going to lie to you. But if used wisely, that time investment will save you money and help you fulfill your sewing goals.

A lesson I learned from setting up multiple databases is: you don't have to do it all at once, or even in big chunks. While it can be meditative to spend an evening on digging through your stash or fabric receipts, if you're short on time, enter records as you USE or BUY the fabric/patterns.

This approach is especially effective because as you start to use it a database, you might find yourself needing some fields, or not needing others, and it'll be easier to tell what's most useful as you track inventory you're using for active projects. When you identify the opportunities/shortcomings, it'll be easier to make that change on a few records rather than the hundreds you made initially, before getting a feel for the software.

So, be patient. You don't need to have everything figured out and entered right away. Allow this effort to be dynamic and evolve with you, as you evolve as a maker!

What's a database and Airtable?

Airtable is a database. A database is a way to organize related information. You interact with databases all the time (whether you know it or not). If you work an office job you might work with Microsoft Excel (or Google Sheets), Access, or SharePoint — all of these work much like databases in that they have rows, columns, and tables that can be used to store and filter information.

Here's some terms we're going to use throughout this post. The Airtable name (if it's different) for the term is in parenthesis.

• Database (Base) - One or more table(s) that contain data related to a certain topic, or for a certain purpose.
• Table - A collection of rows and columns. A database may contain one or more tables. Think of it like a sheet in Excel or Google Sheets.
• Row (Record) - an individual record in a database. A single row contains information across several columns.
• Column (Field) - a specific field within a database that exists for a row. Columns typically have headers like "First Name" or "Date Created" and are usually restricted to the type of data they contain (e.g. text, date, multiple choice, etc.)
• View - a way to filter or sort information without modifying the contents of the table itself. If you only care about columns A and C, you can create a view that only shows those columns (without needing to delete column B, in case you need it for another purpose). Or you can only show records created in the last 10 days, without needing to delete older records.

As a basic example, your bank might have a "Customers" table that contains rows with customer information (1 row per customer), and one of the columns could be "Home Branch" to show the branch where the customer opened their account. That column may be a relational column that links to a "Branch" table that stores information on all the branches, their address, manager, etc. When a new Customer record is entered, a Home Branch is selected for them. This ensures consistent data (no misspellings of addresses), and as branches close or open only the table needs to be modified, and those options will automatically be removed or become available for all customer records, since the "Home Branch" field links to and looks up to that table.

My Sewing Base

This section explains the purpose behind the various tables, fields, and how I have my base structured.

Click HERE to view/get a copy of the TEMPLATE

Yardage

This was the first table I made when I set up my Sewing base and is the most important for me. It answers the question what fabric do I have and how much of it?

Input fields
I try to fill these fields out when I first buy the fabric. I highlighted in purple those that I find most helpful.

Patterns

Keeps track of both my digital and printed patterns.

Projects

At the beginning, I only logged projects as I completed them, however as I try to be more proactive about planning, I've been keeping a backlog of planned projects in this table, as well.

The fields I enter are:

Cost Calculated Fields

Input Columns

Fabric
I have 4 reference fields to the Yardage Table (labeled Fabric 1, Fabric 2, Fabric 3, Fabric 4), which give me 4 "slots" of possible fabrics I could use on a project. I'm yet to use all 4, but if you foresee yourself using more than 4 fabrics on a project, you should make more columns (e.g. Fabric 5, Fabric 6, etc.), and replicate the calculations for those columns, as well.

Even though Airtable lets you select multiple records in a reference field, I only do 1 record per Fabric column to allow calculations based on cost/yardage (if we allow multiple records, we lose the ability to specify different amounts of fabric if using more than one fabric in a project).

Fabric Amount Used
For however many Fabric columns I have, I make a Number column to track how much of each fabric's yardage I used (this is used to determine my remaining fabric yardage, as well as add up the cost of the fabric used).

Data Columns Used in Calculations

Cost per Yard of Fabric Lookup
For however many Fabric columns I have, I make that many Lookup columns that grab data from the Cost/Yd (or Qty) column in the Yardages list, that correlates to the Fabric item I picked.

Formulas

Project Cost     Projects Table
Now that we have all the data we need in one place (how much fabric we used, how much it costs per yard), we can do some math to calculate the cost of the project in a Formula field. The basic equation you'll use is:

(Fabric 1 Amount Used * Cost/Yd of Fabric 1) + (Fabric 2 Amount Used * Cost/Yd of Fabric 2) + ...

If you're making your Airtable from scratch and entering this formula by hand (rather than using my template), you'll need to use the exact column names as your formula values. You can either enter them exactly inside {curly brackets} or they will appear as suggestions below the Formula field when you start typing the column name:

You can also set up a Reference column for the Pattern Cost and add it to the Project Cost if you want to include the price of the pattern in the total project cost.

Remaining Yardage     Yardage Table
The Remaining Yardage field is one of the most useful fields in my Airtable, and I sort many of the views by it, because when I'm planning a project or looking for a certain fabric, it's crucial that I know whether I have enough remaining.

In addition to calculating the cost of a project, we can also leverage the Fabric Amount Used field to track how much of a certain fabric we have left, without needing to update the fabric record itself! All we need to do is add a Rollup column to the Yardage table that sums up all the projects that have used this fabric as either Fabric 1, Fabric 2, Fabric 3, or Fabric 4.

Here's an example Rollup field. If you have 4 Fabric slots, you'll make 4 Rollup fields, changing the lookup field (first highlighted field) and the fabric amount used (second highlighted field) on each Rollup.

The first dropdown shows all reference fields you have on your Projects table. Since I have 4 columns referencing the Yardage table, I have 4 options in this dropdown. The second field is what is actually summed up (amount used) using the SUM(values) aggregation formula.

After the Rollup fields are set up, we can create a formula field to calculate the remaining yardage by subtracting fabric used in projects from the total amount of fabric in our inventory.

Ideas

This is my least-used and least-developed table because these ideas are still in a very abstract stage, and because I use a Google Keep note and Pinterest to keep track of vague inspiration. I would like to find a reasonable way to combine my project planning with this table in the future, but for now, it's very bare-bones.

Additional Resources

I'm not the only person to leverage Airtable for this purpose, and if my database isn't what you're looking for, check out these other amazing makers that have set one up:

• How to use Airtable to plan your sewing projects blog post by Thread & Therapy (link to base template): fantastic forward-looking template for tracking current as well as future projects, current and wish list fabrics, wardrobe planning, and more. Check out the blog post too, since it includes INCREDIBLE automation and integration tips!
• Airtable Base by @jenbensews: this base is incredibly detail-oriented, down to tracking thread and buttons. If my template isn't granular enough for you, check this one out.
• The Airtable Universe contains a huge amount of bases for sewing, knitting, other hobbies, and more! New bases are published all the time, so take a look and optimize your life :)

The examples I provided here just scratch the surface of what's possible with Airtable, and new functionality is being added all the time that I just don't have time to keep up with. The possibilities are endless and highly customizable to work for you!

I would love to hear about how you organize your sewing stuff (whether it's Airtable or otherwise), and feel free to drop a link to your Airtable Universe in the comments so I can include it in my Additional Resources!

I confess, this is not my first time making pants. There were... attempts. I knew it would take a while to get the hang of fitting, so I wanted to get some of the rookie mistakes out of the way before attempting a project like this.

In terms of sewing technique, pants aren't the most complicated thing out there – the most complex aspect is probably the zipper fly. BUT, fitting is a different animal altogether, since it seems to add a whole new sewing dimension with truly needing to consider the proportions of the body and how much body there is on the front, back, and sides.

Materials & Supplies

• Charcoal Stretch Cotton Denim (2 yards; $11.19/yd; $22.38 total) - Mood Fabrics. 20% stretch. Cotton, Lycra
• Black and White Floral and Paisley Lace Printed Cotton Shirting (0.5 yards; $11.89/yd; $5.95 total) - Mood Fabrics
• Zipper Fly Jeans-Making Kit in Nickel ($9.oo) - Closet Core Patterns
• Perform-X Cotton Wrapped Poly Core Thread in Silver Grey ($4.95) - Wawak
• Gutermann Mara 100 Poly Wrapped Poly Core Thread in #40 (6 spools; $2.99/spool; $17.94 total) - Wawak
• Pellon Stick-n-Washaway Stabilizer ($16.50) - Amazon

Sizing

Based on the measurement size and bust/waist/hip measurements of 36"/29"/40" size 10 is closest based on the pattern chart. I used denim that supposedly had 5% more stretch than my final fabric for the toile, but it didn't really feel like it! I was really concerned about the tightness in the hips/thighs, so I also made a toile in size 12 to see if it'd be better (and they did feel better in terms of freedom of movement, although with a fair amount of gaping at the waist).

I was sure I was going to go with size 12, but taking photos (rather than trying to look over my shoulder in the mirror) changed my mind, the size 10 looks like it fits SO much better (and my butt doesn't disappear), so I chose to go with 10.

Modifications

I took a wedge out of the waistband and yoke, as well as did a large calf adjustment because it was easy to see the fabric straining at that part of my leg:

And then made another toile in some white stretch denim I had lying around:

I took out another tiny wedge of the waistband and yoke since there was a bit of extra fabric there, made the calves slightly bigger, and used that for my final pattern.

It was difficult for me not to get obsessive with over-fitting since there are quite a few wrinkles on the toile (that are especially easy to see on the white denim) that I could have pursued trying to resolve, but I didn't want to mess a lot with the pattern, especially when I have never made it before, nor do I really have the level of knowledge of pants construction to say I'd be confident in my changes. So, I stuck to what I felt was absolutely necessary.

In the future, I might take a smidge more out of the waistband and yoke. I didn't want to push it this time because I was worried about how the shape was changing, but I had no issues lining everything up.

Surprisingly, the inseam was a great length (I'm 5'8" with a 31" inseam, and usually buy "tall" size in ready-to-wear), so I kept that as is. I probably could've taken the bottom of the pant back in, but I kind of liked the looser look on the bottom.

Pocket Embroidery

Not gonna lie, I was so excited to do my own back pocket design. I think I started planning it four months ago. I cut out a test pocket and tried various aspects like different threads, different amount of strands, different colors, etc. I ultimately ended up using what's labeled as embroidery thread on Amazon, but it comes in spools rather than in skeins. It's also shinier than regular embroidery floss, and I like how it's thinner for a more subtle look. We'll see how it holds up over time.

I also tried a running stitch on one pocket and a back stitch on another pocket. I chose running stitch because again, I liked the more subtle look to the design, and it left the back of the design less bulky.

The Embroidery Process

I started by drawing and inking the design in a sketchbook. I then traced it onto Pellon Stick-n-Washaway Stabilizer, which I then cut out and stuck onto the back pocket. I cannot recommend this wash-away stabilizer enough, it's pure magic. All you have to do is put your final embroidery under some running water, and it disappears without a trace.

One tip I received was to not use graphite (i.e. pencil lead) to trace the design since it can end up on the thread when washing it. Both a 0.1 width purple fine liner, and a thicker black ink pen worked fine for tracing it, and didn't leave markings on the final design.

As I was working on the design, I applied a little bit of FrayCheck on the knots with a toothpick to prevent them from unraveling. After I finished the embroidery design, I applied a piece of interfacing over the design to prevent it stretching out (on the inside of the pocket)

Closet Core Jeans Making Course Video

The video course was indispensable, but also provided less value than the blazer-making course I used for the Jasika blazer. Since the course covers both the Morgan and Ginger jeans, there were some parts I skipped through. And since jeans just aren't as technically complex as a structured blazer, it felt like I was getting less overall good sewing tips (the only one that really sticks out in my mind is using fabric glue to position belt loops; I just know I'd be so frustrated with them otherwise, I'm all for "lazy" hacks that help the final product look better).

The course also only covers doing a button fly for the Morgan jeans, which was disappointing and took extra mental power to apply to the Gingers.

So overall, I don't feel like it was worth $60, but it did fill some of the gaps that the PDF had, and I would buy it again.

Button Fly, Zipper Fly

My initial vision was to have these be button fly. I've seen sewists successfully make View B of the Gingers with a button fly, I have several button fly jeans in stretch denim, and the button fly kit that's sold by Closet Core patterns says it can be used on the Ginger Jeans.

This was naïve of me.

The video course starts off saying the button-fly was only for non-stretch jeans, but after I did some research, it does seem doable as long as you interface the area (which the pattern has you do anyway). Gingers don't have a pattern piece for the button placket, but I made one by tracing that part of the leg piece.

I felt brazen after I had no issues attaching the buttons and making buttonholes (even with topstitch thread!), but once I put the pants on, something clearly went very wrong.

I'm still not totally sure if I didn't use heavy enough interfacing, or if my positioning was off (for the top button, or the button fly buttons). Maybe the denim was too stretchy to begin with. I do know that if I am going to attempt this again, I will get extra buttons to put on the toile to figure out positioning. I also don't know if the Morgan has the buttons' positions marked, but the video course did not cover much about how to position the buttons either (or maybe I missed it).

This made the jeans unwearable to me, so I set out to convert these to a zipper. This wasn't easy because the zipper step is done before the waistband, so I seam-ripped the front part of the waistband and undid the bar tacks and topstitching I did for the button fly. One side of the fly extension also gets trimmed during the sewing process, but luckily there was enough left over to attach the zip and zipper shield to, even though the serging ended up a bit wonky!

I was a bit annoyed that the zipper that comes with the CC zipper kit is a different metal color than the buttons - it seems that the zip is the same golden color for all button colors available. I probably could've thought ahead and got my own zipper in silver, but this was a last-minute pivot.

I had a difficult time trying to baste the two leg pieces back together after the crotch curve was already serged closed. I don't feel like I really needed to until I got to doing the top-stitching of the curved piece of the zipper, and for that I just whip-stitched the zipper closed.

Assembly

I spent a lot of time trying different threads, different stitch widths, and practicing doing even stitches, and I'm really glad I did because my topstitching turned out better than I expected!

Initially I started out doing a triple-stitch to top-stitch because I was trying to use regular thread (I forgot I had the Perform-X thread). It was difficult to do the triple-stitch because the machine pulled the fabric back on each stitch (and a normal stitch wasn't very visible), so I really recommend just getting top-stitch thread. Several people have mentioned the tip of using regular thread in the bobbin, and only doing top-stitching thread in the needle, and I had no problem doing that.

It was so important to slow down, I think this was the slowest setting I've had my sewing machine on since I started sewing. Anytime I tried to speed up, my top-stitching lines would start getting wonky and I'd need to get the seam ripper out. I also made liberal use of the hand wheel to get through extra-thick parts, or other parts where I needed more control.

I was pleasantly surprised by how resilient the denim was to repeated stitching. Some seams I unpicked several times (4 times for the center yoke seam 😒) to get the top-stitch lines to be even. Even though it was so tedious to do that, I think it was worth it to get a final product I'm happy with.

The PDF instructions had an error in them - they said to put the wrong sides together for the pocket stays. However, the video tells you to put the right sides together (the video is correct) - you put the RIGHT sides together for the pocket lining, and then the WRONG side of pocket lining to RIGHT side of the denim. It helped to pin everything together to understand how it would get assembled to double-check it would turn out correctly. It was a nice touch to have the design of the pocket fabric visible on the inside so you'd see it when putting the pants on; nobody's going to be looking inside your pockets!

As the layers of denim built up, it did get more and more difficult to get an even top-stitching line, especially when jumping from different heights. I ended up using a pack of needles as a makeshift Jean-A-Ma-Jig. On some parts (like the waistband), it was difficult to get to the very edge, or start at the very edge. In those cases where leaving a little thread tail didn't work to help me pull the fabric through, I just had to stop and re-start the stitching (it looks fine though).

Miscellaneous Lessons Learned

• Having electric scissors for cutting out several denim toiles was really convenient. I can't imagine how quickly my rotary cutter blades would get dull, or how tired my hand would get cutting out with scissors.
• Write down the stitch lengths, top-stitching distances, and bar tack settings somewhere (mine was in Google Drive, I keep a doc for each project). Since this project lasted over a long time period, I was constantly referring back to the machine settings.
• Hand-basting seams that I needed to line up, and hand-basting in the zipper helped save me the headache of stuff getting mis-aligned while I was trying to get it under the sewing machine foot.
• In the future I'd like to get a higher end denim fabric (rather than the generic fabric I got from Mood), because I don't even know the weight of this denim or the percentage of Lycra, and I'm not sure how it'll stand up to being worn (and I feel like you can see the bottom edge of the pockets through it, which might be less of a problem with a heavier weight denim).
• Applying FrayCheck to the button stand holes after making them with an awl was a good preventative step to stop the fabric fraying/unraveling (as well as the buttonholes themselves, but that's better-known advice).

Can you tell I'm ready for spring? When there was a craft-along for a wrap dress in my crafting Discord, I was very much on-board! I don't think this sewing pattern sways me away from faux-wrap dresses, but it was a fantastic excuse to use this beautiful, contemporary floral print.

Materials & Supplies

• Italian Papaver Viscose Sateen (3 yards; $28.99/yd; $86.97 total) - Hart's Fabrics
• Aubergine Silk Habotai (0.3 yards; $15.12/yd; $4.54 total) - Fashion Fabrics Club
• Viscose Batiste Foulard Dot Tan/Red/Black (0.3 yards; $19.50/yd; $5.85 total) - Fabric.com
• Woven interfacing

I had a little scrap of the aubergine silk habotai from lining a previous project, and the color was a really great match for the mauve in the main fabric. Unfortunately I didn't have quite enough to do ALL the pieces of the lining (I was short for 1 piece, no matter how many permutations of arranging the pattern pieces I tried), so some of the lining is in the dotted batiste.

The print on the sateen is so gorgeous. But it wasn't easy to work with. It's very slippery and feels like it gets wrinkly just from looking at it.

Sizing

There it is again, the importance of measuring yourself before every sewing project, and wearing the undergarments you plan to wear with the garment!  Although my typical measurements lined up with size 14 (36-28-38), this particular bra adds 2" to my bust, which was the bust measurement for size 16. You can see on my toile how much gaping there is if I made a straight size 14. However when I graded the bodice between a size 14 waist and a size 16 bust, it made a huge difference in better fit.

Paper Pattern

This was my first time buying a Simplicity pattern. I don't know if it's the fact that I bought it from eBay and maybe it wasn't actually factory-folded as promised, or because it was in storage, but the paper was so incredibly wrinkled. I had to iron every single piece of the pattern because it was creased in a way that interfered with the lines matching up. Since it's currently winter, this was an incredibly static-filled endeavor, and I was kicking myself for not finding a PDF wrap-dress pattern, instead.

Pellon Easy Pattern

If I need to trace a pattern, I typically use kraft paper because it's really cheap and hasn't really been an issue. But, I've been wanting to try pattern paper (Pellon 830 Easy Pattern). Since it's very similar to Swedish Tracing Paper, I've read that it makes fitting easier, and frankly I wanted to see what all the fuss is about, as many people do seem to love it.

The Good

• There is something deeply satisfying about writing on the pattern paper with a freshly sharpened #2 pencil.
• It doesn't slide around on fabric the same way paper does, which makes it much easier to cut out (although it still didn't save me from pieces not lining up).
• Good amount of transparency, I would say more than the kraft paper I use.
• If I needed to adjust the pattern or was making my own patterns, it would be easy to fit it on myself or the dress form (making a toile made this feature mostly unnecessary though).

The Bad

• Although pattern paper "sticks" to fabric due to how it's textured, tracing the pattern from the tissue paper was a slippery endeavor. I found it worked best to cut the original tissue paper pattern into smaller pieces (not cutting out the sizes, just the overall piece with a large margin), and taping both the pattern piece and the pattern paper piece to the counter before tracing. This adds more time to the process, and compromises the integrity of the tissue paper pattern since there's a risk of ripping from the tape. When I didn't tape it down, I had a couple of instances where I nudged the piece underneath (even with pattern weights) and got messed up.
• It's not easy to erase pencil from it (at least, with the erasers I tried). I ended up crossing out the lines if I messed up/needed to redraw.
• I paid $25 for a 10 yard/45" roll. With the extra pieces I made for the toile and getting sizing right, that's a hefty extra cost on top of the fabric, pattern, and notions. As a contrast, a 67 yard/48" roll of kraft paper costs $30.

Modifications

The only change I felt like I needed to make (besides grading between sizes for the bodice), was to add 20cm (7.8") to the ties, so they wouldn't result in a stubby bow. I'm not sure why, but I almost always have to lengthen the ties on any wrap top I make 🤷🏼

The way I lengthened the tie negatively affected my final garment because I didn't add all the length to the end of the tie (I was worried it'd end up too wide), and didn't plan ahead for adjusting the markings for the added tie length, so the bodice/skirt didn't quite line up right.

Assembly

The one step I struggled with the most was finishing the side seam when assembling the bodice. Other blogs also call out this step for being difficult, but don't actually describe how to do it! Here's my attempt at clearing it up in case this helps somebody:

Leave the side seam unsewed when sewing together lining and main fabric (Bodice and Lining A, C step 10-12). Your bodice should look like this at this point:

Unfold the unsewn lining away from the bodice fabric. Pin the main body fabric (the front and back pieces) right sides together, and pin the lining right sides together. If you did this correctly, the seam of the armhole will be in the middle. Stitch the continuous line from the edge of the main fabric, to the edge of the lining fabric (be careful you don't catch the belt tie in your stitching). Repeat on the other side.

Understitching was also difficult to do. I wish I had done it at an earlier step in the assembly (or maybe incrementally). Trying to do it when everything was assembled made it really difficult to get to the armholes/shoulders without stretching them out.

Hong Kong Seam Finish

Since I had some extra fabric to play with, I wanted to try doing a Hong Kong seam finish for the first time.

First order of business was to make bias tape. This fabric was so slippery, I didn't want to try sewing together tiny little strips, so I tried out a the "continuous" bias tape method, and primarily relied on the Treasurie blog for instructions. It took a bit to get the fabric lined up, and I used the thread-pulling method for lining up the grain. Overall this fabric was just very prone to getting skewed, and I think that messed up several parts of this dress.

Unfortunately I ended up cutting out 2" wide bias tape (instead of 1"). I don't know why, but it ends up really throwing me off thinking about unfolding double-fold bias tape vs. making my own.

I pressed it in half, and cut it to make it 1", but I don't think I ended up with as consistent width as I needed.

I also used electric scissors to cut out the skirt because I needed to get it cut out quickly, and that made my edges a little wavy (still need more practice with those). That made assembling the seams difficult, and a lot of parts ended up being more bias-bound seams than Hong Kong seams. I can see why it's a couture finish, it takes a lot of precision to get everything set up in a way where you can finish it with bias tape and stitch-in-the-ditch evenly all the way through.

One day I will learn, that if I feel like I need to rush any part of a sewing project, I need to put it away until I have more time!

Miscellaneous Lessons Learned

• I should've taken more care with the seams and grading them, you can see the seam show through when it got pressed :/

• I appreciate that there's snaps on one side of the bodice to help keep it closed, because again, the fabric is so slippery. But sewing on the snaps just felt so messy. Is there a better snap alternative where the thread is more hidden?
  
  It also feels like they pull so much on the batiste fabric that I'm worried it'll come undone with the loose weave. I wanted to keep the lining airy and breathable, but knowing now how much pressure the snaps put on the fabric (especially when un-snapping), I would choose more sturdy lining in the future.
• There's a better way to tie the side-tie (or any knot, really!) to keep it from slipping quite so readily. Instructions here.

It's been exactly a year (and a few days) since I finished my first ever blazer. After I finished that Lekala pattern, I was both proud of myself for being ambitious enough to tackle it, but also looking for a game plan on how to do better (especially with the lining, which really messed with the outer shell).

As I became more familiar with the different pattern-makers over the past year, I found several blazer patterns along the way— Closet Core Jasika Blazer being one of them.

Especially appealing was that Closet Core sells kits which include nearly everything you need (minus the fabric) to make their blazer. Since I've never worked with some of these materials (horsehair canvas, twill tape, weft interfacing, etc.), I was glad to get a package of something that I knew was exactly what the designer intended for this garment.

To seal the deal, Closet Core also offers an online class that takes you through every step of sewing the blazer (I swear I wasn't paid for this review, these are all just the exact things my precious little anxious heart needed to feel confident enough to get a small glimpse of the world of tailoring).

Fabric

Since my previous blazer attempt was made with this jacquard fabric (and I loved it), I wanted to try this other colorway.

I also already knew that the jacquard frays like crazy and is difficult to press. The habotai was difficult to work with in it is own silky way. But being mentally prepared for the challenge helped.

Pattern Details & Modifications

I chose to sew the size 10 (A/B cup). My current bust/waist/hip measurements are 36/29/40" and that seemed to line up pretty well with how I wanted it to fit.

• I shortened the pattern by 1" at the lengthen/shorten line since I am short-waisted (note: I think I forgot to repeat this modification on the lining because it came out a little wonky).
• I chose to not do the pockets. Partially because I felt like the pattern was already very busy and I didn't want the visual line to be interrupted by a pocket. And second, since the fabric frays so bad, I knew it'd be a huge pain in the butt. If I had solid/light-colored fabric (like wool), I think pockets would be a really lovely design detail.
  
  I modified the pattern piece to have a fisheye dart like this (and added some extra paper to make up for the lack of pocket. I just tried to follow the lines):

I was a big fan of how this pattern was laid out, and it's clear to see the professionalism in drafting. My biggest pet peeve in PDF patterns is when it's not easy to print out just a part of the pattern to make a toile (draft).

However for this PDF pattern, it was easy to print out and assemble only the bodice/sleeves for the muslin (and not waste a bunch of paper printing unnecessary pieces for me at that time).

Another annoying thing with PDF patterns is when they reach 50+ pages, it gets more and more difficult to assemble them correctly. Being off by just a millimeters on a few pages really adds up after you get to 10+ rows of pages. With the Jasika Blazer pattern, the pieces were broken up in a great way where I could do it in batches (rather than assembling all 90 pages at once; so don't get overwhelmed ☺)

Close Core Blazer Making Course Video

I found it helpful to go through the video before I even started sewing. I put the whole thing on 2x speed and watched it while skimming along on the PDF pattern instruction.

Once I started the actual sewing, I went back to the beginning of the video (resumed normal speed), and followed along section by section, pausing and rewinding many times.

The video was helpful both for explaining the "how" and the "why" and gave fantastic instruction for a lot of sewing concepts that were new for me. For example: best practices of grading to reduce seam bulk (e.g. how to grade a lapel and front of blazer where you have seams that switch from inside to outside).

In many patterns I sew, I have at least one moment (but let's be real, probably many, many moments) where instructions are unclear and I have a moment of "I'm not sure if I'm doing this right, but I'm going to do it and bust out the seam ripper if necessary, later."

Those moments were much less during this project than usual. The things I did mess up were purely from me not playing close enough attention (not the lack of instruction). This is especially impressive considering how many new methods and techniques this garment entailed.

Bottom line — both the video and the PDF worked in wonderful tandem to fill in gaps that either had, and I feel like my money was well-spent on the video course.

Toile

I made my toile back in early September.

The thing that bothered me the most were the vertical lines on the back view. I was also considering making some small fixes to the fit of the waist, but ultimately didn't want to mess around with the pattern too much (this time).

One thing I found very helpful was to fit the toile with shoulder pads in place, because those did correct some of the possible fit issues.

Preparing the Fabric

Interfacing

This was my first time doing block fusing (i.e. fusing interfacing to the fabric before cutting the fabric out). I think that's something that will need more practice, but I like it because I didn't have to perfectly line up the fabric and interfacing and hope it doesn't move while I'm pressing.

I ended up block-fusing just under a yard (~33") of the main fabric. It would've been perfect if it was a solid color, but because I was trying to make the pattern mirrored across the two sides of the blazer, I had to add a tiny bit to one of the front panels that ended up offset due to trying to match the pattern.

It would've been nice to have maybe even half a yard more interfacing on hand (than what came in the tailoring kit) to be able to pattern-match better.

Pattern Matching

Possibly overreaching, but I decided I wanted to at least attempt to pattern match the floral pattern. I love those little "high end" details like a pattern being perfectly mirrored across the center line or continuing across pieces.

At the end, I was running out of fabric, so I had to make some choices of what I could and couldn't pattern match. I decided to focus on the front panels and lapels as much as I could. To accomplish this, I busted out my markers and (crudely) traced the pattern of the fabric onto the pattern piece. This method actually worked out kind of okay!

On some of the pieces (e.g. the back panels) I forgot to factor in seam allowance, but it was a solid strategy for the pieces I cared most about.

Staying Organized

Because there were so many pieces for this pattern and this fabric did not hold chalk or any sort of marking very well (also why I found it easier to use a rotary cutter), I found it helpful to label each piece of the pattern with a paper label pinned to the piece.

Outer Shell

I had a tragedy while sewing the outer shell where I sliced into the fabric while trying to finish edges with a serger. I patched it up with some Fray Check, a little piece of interfacing, and some hand stitching.

One thing I did notice when I tried it on was these drag lines on the back (which I did have with the toile, so I was kind of expecting it), but they bothered me more than before.

To address the issue, I folded over one of the sides to take it in just a little bit, top stitched it, and I feel like that helped address the extra fabric there.

Even though it helped with the lines, it did feel like it made the blazer feel more constricted and harder to move my arms forward, so maybe there's a trade-off, or opportunities for adjustment of the pattern.

Lining

This was probably the hardest part of the whole project. I forgot that I had the vents flipped around, so I had to seam-rip and re-sew the lining when I did remember (thankfully before I got too far with it).

I also forgot to shorten the lining by 1" as I did the main bodice. And despite doing the fold on the sides of the outer shell to take it in (I didn't repeat this maneuver on the lining), it still felt way too small to fit all the way around the hem (the seam allowance was extremely scant in some places). This is likely on me for not squaring up the silk fabric before cutting.

This is most egregiously visible on the inside, around the vent (but not like people see it while it's being worn anyway).

When I press the lining, it keeps getting stuck to the interfacing that's on the inside of the outer shell (I imagine the weft interfacing is to blame, since it was the most "sticky"). It's a minor annoyance, and I just have to go through and make sure the lining is free to move after pressing.

Miscellaneous

By the time I was ready to do the final step of sewing on the button/buttonhole, I was extremely over this whole project. It's taken basically my entire sewing attention for over a month and I just wanted to finish it.

So the button placement is not ideal (and as I mentioned the fabric doesn't hold marking well, and I forgot to do a tailor's tack for the button hole). I eyeballed the location of the button while it was on my dress form, so it's not great.

Later, I learned that a jacket button should sit at one's natural waist (at least for men's jackets, and allowing flexibility as all fashion "rules" do, of course). Since I'm short-waisted, that would be around 3-4" higher than this button, which is probably not great either. In any case, if I'd put it even 1" higher I think it'd look better. But, I've never been one for buttoning my blazer anyway, so the point is moot ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

In Conclusion...

Will I try this pattern again?  Probably. I'm a fan of the 2-piece sleeves (as they were on my first-ever blazer), and way after I started I found there's a whole slew of modifications (I refuse to call them "hacks") you can make, that I wish I'd found earlier (like peaked lapels!)

I spent many years dealing with the glamorous ಠ_ಠ side effects of wearing high heels. Like my toes being numb for days after going out, and walking home barefoot at the end of the night (yuck) because I couldn't bear another step.

When I discovered "comfort heels" it totally changed the shoe paradigm for my wardrobe. At this point I own at least a dozen pairs of what are considered "comfort" brand pumps, booties, and sandals. In a ridiculous way, it feels good to be able to walk 20,000 steps/day at a tech conference, or dance my butt off at a wedding, and look the way I want to look when I'm doing it.

For that reason, when I started seeing ads on Instagram for two comfort shoe brands, they caught my eye. I have my go-to's for comfort shoe brands (that I'll discuss later), but I'm open-minded to trying the latest and greatest! Since I didn't find many reviews of these online, I figured I'll write my own review (and pray that I don't end up on an ahem foot aficionado website).

Protégé

At this time Protégé only has the one model of shoe, its Protégé Stilletos 2022. High heel sandals with an ankle strap, available in black, nude, and white. What caught my eye enough to indulge in the $235 price was that the shoe came with four different ankle strap options — some of which feature studs and different color hardware (so it's basically like buying four shoes, right?!)

The heel height is 4.3" with a 0.5" platform. This is a whopping 3.8" of rise. Nonetheless they tout arch support, forefoot padding, a toe post (like a flip-flop — something I haven't ever encountered in this style of heel before), and an "incredibly stable, ultra-deep heel cup".

I already had a similar pair of shoes and I was interested to compare. My existing pair are Bandolino Madia (size 9.5). Madia has a 3.25" heel height.

I bought size 9.5 for Protégé, and although it might've been nice to try size 10 also (you can see my toes are spilling over a little in later photos), I felt like the fit was true-to-size overall.

The Good

• The strap mechanism. I spend a lot of time fumbling around with that thing on sandals, and constantly feel like I need to adjust it because I forget which hole I usually wear it on. But this one is both adjustable and quick on/off.

• The toe post that keeps your foot from sliding forward did feel like it helped. One of my beefs with the Bandolino sandals is that the most painful part is the toe strap, especially when I'm on my feet a lot and my foot slides forward, it starts to cut into my skin.

• The return policy. At the time of this blog post, Protégé does free returns and even encourages you to try them on and walk around (indoors). Buying shoes online is rarely a sure thing, and especially for $235 I wasn't going to chance it.

The Bad

I went in with high expectations, so the good marketing was this shoe's downfall.

• After being on my feet for the duration of photos (15 minutes?) my toes definitely started going numb. There's just no way to make nearly 4" of a heel height comfortable. You can put all the padding you want under the ball of your foot (I've tried every variation of those silicone gel pads), but a fraction inch of padding isn't gonna do much when you put 100+ pounds of bodyweight on it.
• I didn't feel most of the comfort features like the "ultra-deep heel cup" or the arch support (disclaimer: this might be because my arch is kind of high).
• The foam padding was underwhelming.

• I don't like the nude-colored top or bottom sole (but that's a personal preference).

The Verdict

Protégé would be a fantastic choice if I was looking for heels of that height. However, since I already have similar-looking shoes that are more comfortable (comparatively), and I am not looking for that extreme of a heel height (I'm already 5'8"), I decided to return these.

And by the way, the return process was incredibly easy. I got a return label emailed to me within hours. I mentioned in my original email requesting a return that the heel is just too high, and they responded that they're working on expanding sizes and styles (including ones with a lower heel!) so I am strongly inclined to try again in the future.

Joan Oloff

12/29/2021 update: I ultimately decided to return these shoes and based on that experience alone, I do not recommend this brand. I purchased the "Kover Return Assurance" for an extra $5 that allowed me to return the shoes despite them being on clearance. I replied to my order email asking to initiate a return and didn't hear anything back. I reached out AGAIN a month later and was told I need to do the return through Kover (gee, might that be useful information to include in the order email? Might you have told me that when I contacted you the first time?) By that time it was too late to return. Considering that my return experience with Protégé was perfectly smooth and flawless, Joan Oloff has a long way to go in improving customer support. Yikes.

The second pair of shoes I bought were Joan Oloff. This brand has been on my radar for a while. The price range is around ~$285 - $325 (depending on the model of shoe) and there's a variety of colors, styles, and heel heights.

I purchased the Deborah Black Soft Patent in a size 10 (they recommend sizing up half-a-size) for a sale price of $60 (normally $285). The heel height is 75mm (~3"). The pump features a podiatrist-designed insole, antimicrobial lining inside the shoe, and a seamless upper.

I'm comparing these pumps to my tried-and-true Naturalizer Michelle (size 9.5) with a 3" heel and 1/2" hidden platform.

The Good

• The sale price is fairly reasonable and in line with other comfort heel brands I prefer. For an additional $5 you can include returns on "final price" items.
• There's rubber tread on the bottom (I presume to make it less slippery), and although I know one can get that done at a cobbler, I like that they thought ahead of this detail.
• The arch support is intense. I kept checking to make sure I didn't forget to take out some bit of packaging, but you definitely feel it, and it feels very stable.

The Bad

• The photos on the web site make the patent look way less shiny. I thought the name "soft patent" was a reference to it being less shiny than a regular patent leather shoe, but they are pretty darn shiny!

• The shape of the vamp (as I've learned — that's the name for the top of the shoe and where it finishes on your foot) is matronly in a way that doesn't come through via the web site photos. I wish the vamp was lower, closer to my toes. That said, Joan Oloff has many styles; I'm sure I could find a model of shoe that's more my taste.

• Sizing up 1/2 a size (as suggested) was probably unnecessary. There's a bit of a gap at the back of the shoe, and although they don't slip off, I don't think I'd be able to wear them with tights/nylons. If I buy again, I'll get 9.5 (my usual size).
• I don't think the quality is worth the original price. I will be keeping an eye on sales, though.

The Verdict

I'm strongly considering keeping these shoes, for those occasions when I'm carrying a bit of water weight and my feet are swollen. They look classy and professional, and that's all I'm really looking for in black pumps.

When I look at these photos that are taken at a different angle than me looking straight down, even the vamp looks acceptable.

A Final Word on Comfort Heels

If comfort heels are something you want to explore, you'll need to try some brands to see what works for your body and your feet.

My all-time favorite brand is Naturalizer. The price is usually in the ~$100 range. The one downside is that because the material they use for their shoes is so soft (and requires zero breaking-in), the shoes do tend to fall apart or start to look well-worn after about 5 seasons (but that's pretty good for the price and heavy use). I'm going to keep buying them because they are hands down the most comfortable high heel I've ever worn.

Some other comfort heel brands in my closet are (in order of comfort) LifeStride, AeroSoles, Clarks, and Rockport. Zappos also has an entire comfort category, so check it out for yourself!

A while back I got some swatches from Mood, and one of them was this gorgeous metallic knit jersey. I got more yardage than I usually do because I liked the way it draped and how it felt, and the subtle blue shimmer on otherwise black-looking fabric looked fab as well.

I knew this fabric would be excellent for autumn and winter sewing, so now that autumn is in full swing, I finally felt inspired enough to put it to use.

Wanting to find a pattern that would show the shimmer the best, I initially thought of a wrap dress because the draping some patterns have would work great for that very purpose.

Betty Wrap Dress - Sinclair Patterns

I've had good experiences with Sinclair patterns before, so I was feeling optimistic about the Betty faux wrap dress! I picked size 8 initially because that's what I used for the Sinclair Patterns Amaya skirt.

My first beef with this pattern is that there's no diagram map of the pieces on the PDF. I like printing out just the bodice and making a toile of that to get a rough idea of if I'm using the right size. Since there was no map of what pieces of the PDF the bodice resides on, it was partly guesswork to get it printed and assembled.

I did end up making a toile out of some scrap knits to make sure it was the right size, but it felt like more work than necessary to figure that out. The bodice felt too big, so I sized down to size 6 for my actual sew of the dress.

Sinclair patterns delivered in having beginner-friendly instructions with great pictures and diagrams, and it was especially easy with my serger.

My second beef with this pattern is it makes it seem like the amount of the top "wrap" is a suggestion and it should be adjusted to one's personal bust. I think this is more of an issue of how I read the instructions, and a more experienced sewist might not have had this issue and used the actual notches. But I ended up making the wrap part not wrap enough.

Finally, I feel like the elastic at the waist ended up making the whole thing extra-weird looking (I swear I basted and tried it on), but the last part where you attach the bodice, skirt, and elastic all together is very high stakes and very likely to go wrong (the instructions do say to go slow), but elastic is always so tricky! I messed that one up pretty bad.

So, this dress was a bust. Not only does it bag out in a weird way and the waist seam is messed up, the sleeves are also too tight (I should've known better, I almost always need to make sleeves larger because I'm a weightlifter).

Despite so many things going wrong, I don't feel like this was a waste of my time because I got to play with adjusting the differential feed on my serger to help the bottom of the hem curl up. What a neat technique!

Acknowledging that there was more stuff wrong than I wanted to fix, I decided to harvest the fabric from this dress and try again with another pattern...

Jackie Dress - Victory Patterns

At first glance, I didn't think the Jackie dress was a very complicated pattern. From the front, it's a bunch of sewn together panels! But I think it definitely deserves its rating of "intermediate", and as you'll see there were some parts that stumped me.

I was feeling pretty frustrated at not having produced anything from this fabric yet, so I just went ahead with sewing without a toile. I made version 2 (sleeveless and shorter than version 1) in size 8 since that size on the size chart (37" bust/28.5" waist/39" hips) was closest to my measurements (36"/29"/40").

One of the things that drew me to this pattern was the delicate neck closure. I wasn't feeling installing a zipper, but I loved the look of the keyhole back and ball-and-shank buttons.

I was hoping to 3D print the buttons, but they are so tiny (3/8" or 1cm) that my printer couldn't get the level of detail I wanted on them (without switching out the extruder head to something smaller, which I didn't have). I ended up buying buttons from JoAnn's (even though I try to avoid that store), I'm happy with how these look!

Sewing the front was indeed what I expected; just serging the panels together. The back, back facing, and neck facing was another story, though...  It had some new things I haven't done before (like button loops), and some interesting techniques for assembly of the facings.

I relied heavily on the sew-along that Victory Patterns provides. There's some excellent tips and suggestions that aren't in the pattern instructions, and I strongly suggest checking it out as you go along.

Some of the tips I would suggest are:

• Baste with a sewing machine or hand-baste whenever possible. My serger wasn't always ready to grab both layers at once, and several parts require high precision to line up the layers correctly. Basting made serging so much easier.
• Check the fit of the button loops around the buttons, mine are too loose, so the buttons keep coming undone.
• I would err on the size of heavier fabric. Some parts of it (like the neckline) would come out better with heavier fabric, in my opinion. This jersey was almost transparent, and although I like how it moves - I wonder how it'd look in something with more structure.

One thing I didn't expect to happen was that the inside of the neckline (where the neck facing is) is incredibly scratchy to wear. This is odd because the fabric feels great to the hand (there is only the slightest hint of metallic threads, it feels very soft overall), but it's just enough to irritate the heck out of my neck. I was still able to wear it for a day, but I might need a base-layer in the future.

There were also some mishaps with cutting it out, to where my hem didn't quite end up even, and there's some unevenness with the back construction as well.

BUT - bottom line, it's good enough to wear with a blazer, in my opinion! The dark fabric hides a lot of sins, and the beautiful blue shimmer is worth it.

On to the photos!

One of the big reasons I got into sewing was to sew my own business casual clothes from good quality fabric, with exactly the features I want. I was very eager to jump right into that—sensible beginner advice, be damned! When I saw the geometric print silk on Mood, I instantly had a vision of a blouse made from it. So, my second EVER from-scratch sewing project was a Style Arc Tiffany blouse.  

It didn't turn out good.

I picked a size that was too small (especially in terms of sleeve length and tightness around my upper arm), the silk was a nightmare to sew, and being new to French seams, I had some major wonkiness going on at the shoulder seams. The blouse was unfortunately, unwearable. Nonetheless, I couldn't get the vision of it out of my head. I bought a few more yardage of that fabric, and bided my time until I could attempt it again with a bit more experience. That time is now :)

Materials & Supplies

• Rag & Bone Navy and White Geometric Silk Charmeuse (3 yards; $20.99/yd; $62.97 total) - Mood Fabrics

Pattern Choice

When I originally chose this pattern, I didn't know many pattern sources. I also didn't know that not every pattern would have instructions as detailed as Seamwork provides. Even with a year of sewing under my belt, I still found Style Arc's lack of step-by-step illustration difficult, and needed to find videos or other third-party tutorials for some of the steps.

I do like that this blouse has a deeper v-neck than most patterns. Sometimes when you have a pussy-bow blouse, it can look matronly or at the very least like there's too much material at the neck, and the deep v-neck mitigates that. I also love the femininity of the princess seams!

Pattern Review

I tried to stick with the instructions as close as possible to give a good review, but as I got closer to finishing, I got more and more annoyed with some of the methods and went back to what I prefer (like the sleeve & cuff tutorial video by Diane Deziel).

I particularly wasn't a fan of all the "stitch-in-the-ditch" that the instructions had. Even though it's less time-consuming that slipstitching by hand, I feel like it really depends on a high level of sewing skill (i.e. making sure everything is lined up correctly and sewn right prior), and looks bad if you're not there yet (like me!). Slipstitch is slightly more forgiving in that aspect/easy to adjust for prior mistakes.

I did French seams, which made the fabric slightly easier to work with, since I could put it wrong sides together (since the wrong side is less slippery). I forgot the plan for the princess seams, though, so those did get overlocked to prevent fraying (this fabric frays really bad).

I didn't make any purposeful alterations, however I wish I would've adjusted the shoulders a bit. I didn't have a very accurate prior garment to go off of, but it felt like the shoulders were more forward than my shoulders are (and I even have forward-rolling shoulders). It's entirely possible this is also due to a sewing error on my part.

The hem ended up fairly short because I had to even up the bodice sections. To avoid losing even more length, I took this opportunity to try a "ban roll hem" method that lets you easily do narrow rolled hems, and thought it worked pretty well (this is the video I used as instruction). It probably would be easier to do this on fabric with less body (like chiffon), but I still thought this was a great technique, that I look forward to using again.

Then and Now

When I decided to sew this blouse again, I thought it would surely be easier since I have had plenty of opportunities to work with slippery material since my last attempt.

To my frustration, it was still insanely difficult, and although I had some tricks to help me deal, I gained a whole level of appreciation for past me and that I didn't do that bad of a job on my second garment ever (heck, I think the collar might even be better on my previous attempt).

I think overall it's better, and I followed good practices like pressing the seams often (which made a big difference) but there's some issues with the fit still.

Verdict

Would I sew this pattern a third time? I might. However I still think I'll stick with V9029 as my go-to pattern for princess seam button-ups.

Tips/Lessons Learned

• Using a Microtex needle (I used a 60/8) for the silk charmeuse was very helpful to avoid pulling on the fabric/unnecessary holes. The couple of times I had to seam-rip, I think it was easier due to sewing with this type of needle.
• Using a rotary cutter on the slippery silk was way better than cutting it with scissors or using the tissue paper sandwiching method (and probably more accurate!)
• Pins, pins, PINS for slippery fabric.
• I was a bit scared of ironing or steaming silk, but this fabric handled it great (I tested it on a scrap piece first). I suppose it makes sense since it's a natural fiber.

I went to a local fabric shop to buy 5 yards for a summer dress (likely my last for the season), and wouldn't ya know it - there was ~6 yards left on the bolt. What's a girl to do but take it all, knowing this lightweight and cool-to-the-touch rayon would make a fantastic summer top.

Materials & Supplies

• Bloomination Watercolor Floral Rayon ($14/yd) - Elfriede's Fine Fabrics

Vogue 9328 Summer Dress

Sizing

This pattern has cup sizes (which is fantastic), and I ended up sewing size 12 with the B cup. I'm happy with the fit!

Construction

Overall, I thought the instructions were reasonable to follow for someone of my skill level. I chose to do French seams, since the fabric is lightweight and prone to fraying.

I learned a tough lesson about staystitching. When I tried on the dress after finishing the neckline, I noticed this happened to the arm holes:

I fixed this by folding the side seams into a little wedge and stitching to the waist. When I finished the arm holes with bias binding, it blended in nicely and doesn't add extra bulk.

After I washed the dress, it got super wrinkly. The bottom hem especially looked weirdly twisted up. I was able to press it nicely by stretching it taut with one hand, while I ironed with the other hand.

Adjustments

I made the following changes to the pattern:

• Did not add sleeves. Partially because I plan to wear this with a blazer or cardigan for work, and partially because people gotta see the gun show flex
• Shortened bottom hem by 7"
• Did not add a hook and eye closure (I felt like the zipper was sufficient, and didn't want to make it difficult for me to put on)
• I interfaced the zipper since the fabric was so lightweight.

Next Time/Lessons Learned

• I should've shortened the bodice by 1". I totally spaced on the fact that I'm short-waisted and that I usually have to do that
• Making the bias tape out of the fabric I was using (rather than using pre-made) was tedious, but worth it!
• Cutting the longer pieces of the skirt with a rotary cutter was so much easier than scissors. I highly recommend it!

I relied heavily on the following resources:

• French Seaming in Seam Pockets by Kittenish Behavior (YouTube)
• Setting an Invisible Zip in a French Seam
• Finishing Edges with Bias Binding

Breeze Men's Shirt

Sizing

Husband's measurements are 42.5"/41.5" (108 cm/106 cm) for chest/waist. I made size 46 initially to be safe, but it was clearly way too baggy, so I ended up going with size 42. The toile looked much better, although still a little loose (which I was fine with for the sake of comfort).

Construction

Overall, I appreciated that this pattern is geared towards early beginners, so instructions were detailed.

HOWEVER. I acknowledge that it's 100% on me for not reading the instructions in full... There are several versions of how you can construct the shirt, one of which is having the front facing on the inside vs. the outside. I wanted a slightly contrasting element so I decided to go with putting it on the outside of the shirt.

The instructions are slightly different for putting the facing on the outside, and the step where you attach the facing directs you to a separate webpage that has those steps.

Unfortunately, about 20 steps back, you were also supposed to sew the collar inside out as well, to make the outside facing work. It would've been nice to have a warning/heads up/link to that webpage at that point.

I also was not super thrilled with that separate webpage since it kept referencing the original instruction steps, so jumping back and forth was confusing. I know better than anyone that keeping up several steps of documentation is pure hell, but it would've made my life so much easier (and probably even more so for the novices that this pattern is aimed at).

The facing collar piece ended up too long (both times I sewed it), so I just trimmed it to align with the end of the neckline.

Adjustments

The fabric I used was only 44" wide, and I had already cut out the dress. I thought I'd be able to fit this shirt on what remained, but it was trickier than I thought, especially since the front and back are cut on a fold.

I ended up shortening the shirt by 9cm (at the 'lengthen or shorten here' line). It ended up working out great and I don't think it's too short.

Since I had to redo the collar, the neck ended up being a little weird, and not lying quite how it should.

Next Time/Lessons Learned

• Read the instructions in full before starting :)
• I really love the feel of the rayon, but I'd like to make this in slightly thicker/stiffer fabric (the pattern is aimed more towards linen or cotton)

Corsets and bustiers have been inching their way into Spring/Summer collections and the public fashion over the past couple of years, however I don't think they've had much visibility (since people are just starting to leave their houses and actually see other people's outfits).

I've been seeing this type of outfit on Pinterest, so it's been bouncing around in my head. Sewing a well-fitting corset or bustier is not an easy pursuit, so I wanted to start trying patterns and techniques to see what works best for my body.

• General Information
• Review of the Pencil Skirt (Sew Over It - The Ultimate Pencil Skirt)
• Review of the Bustier (McCall 7937)

General Information

Materials & Supplies

• White and Evening Haze Digitally Printed Flowers on a Premium Mikado/Twill ($31.99/yd) - Mood Fabrics

Although this is gorgeous and expensive fabric (that I've also seen used on Project Runway!), it's not very wearable. It's not very breathable, it doesn't feel good against my skin, nor is it easy to work with since it frays pretty bad and is hard to press or fold. So, I was looking for a cool use for it that didn't feel like I was "wasting" it, and I think this hit the mark.

Review of the Pencil Skirt

I sewed a pencil skirt very recently, but since I was working with a twill fabric, I needed a pattern made for wovens. I've had good experience with Sew Over It in the past (their Rosie Dress was one of the first garments I made), and I liked that their Ultimate Pencil Skirt pattern seemed fairly straightforward and really does look like it has a fantastic fit for everybody that I've seen make it.

I was disappointed to see the pattern PDF didn't have layers, particularly because it made it difficult to find (and transfer) the darts. I highlighted it with a marker to make it easier for me to see, and then used a ruler and protractor to transfer the darts to my fabric (maybe the protractor was overkill 😅).

Sizing

I chose to sew size 12 since my hips are 40 inches and that aligns with the SOI size chart.

Adjustments

• I took off 2.5" at the "lengthen or shorten here" line since the skirt looks to hit right below the knee, but I wanted it to end above my knee (this makes your legs look longer!)
• I took ~1/8" in from the very top and on the side of my hips (this is an alteration I usually end up making on all garments I make for myself)

Review of the Bustier

I bought M7937 during a McCall sale. It's a great pattern since it comes with several iterations of a bustier top and pant options.

For this outfit, I chose view B.

Sizing

Initially I chose size 12 based on the chest measurement (32"), however after the seam allowance that attaches the lining was taken up, it was apparent it'd be too small. I sized up to size 14 for the bustier I used, however please see the Possible Pattern Error section below.

Adjustments

• Did not add boning. I tried it on a toile, but my lack of experience with sewing with it was apparent, so I chose to leave it out.
• Instructions for finishing the parts of the garment near the zipper (the back seams) were not very clear, so I felt like I had to do some improvising to finish the zipper and seams.
• Adjustment to accommodate the extra fabric overhang (see next section)

Possible Pattern Error?

After I sized up to size 14, I traced the pattern off the tissue paper and transferred it to fabric. Once I started to assemble it, I ran into an issue where the front bra had a consistent extra bit of of fabric overhanging by almost 2".

Thinking I made an error tracing the pattern, I re-traced all 3 pieces it on a new piece of paper. I tried both muslin and my actual fabric. It kept happening. Wondering if I made a sewing error, I went back to sewing a size 12 and the pieces lined up perfectly.

So, the only explanation I have is that size 14 of M7937 has some sort of drafting or printing error. The fix wasn't too difficult: I added an extra 1.5" to the middle of the front piece when tracing it onto fabric, but I think I'll still be on the lookout for other bustier patterns.

Lessons Learned

Although I'm proud of my first attempt at a separating zipper on the bustier, I completely forgot to check that the zipper matched up on the skirt before finishing it, so I ended up with this. Check your zippers!

Summary

As I mentioned, I will be on the lookout for bustier patterns (if you got a good go-to, drop it in the comments, please!)

I definitely look forward to using the Ultimate Pencil Skirt pattern again; I've seen many sewists use a slightly stretchy woven, which would work better than this very heavyweight twill.

I also need to sew a white button-up shirt that will work well for layering, somehow none of the three white button-ups that I have in my closet were exactly what I wanted for wearing under the bustier.

Overall this was a fun experiment in making a coordinated outfit out of a single fabric, I'm looking forward to making other versions of this.

This versatile and comfortable skirt is perfect as casual-wear or the office. I was able to whip this up in a weekend, which makes it extra-appealing if you're on a quest for flexible separates. Although the awesome geometric fabric pattern is forgiving of a lot of mistakes, it's likely better-suited for thicker scuba fabric.

Materials & Supplies

I've had this teal scuba knit for over a year; it's one of the first fabrics I ever bought with the intention of garment sewing! It felt great to find a cute use for it, especially as a separate that I can pair with many different types of tops.

• Teal Black Polyester/Lycra Geometric Print Scuba Knit (1 ¾ yards; $7.79/yd; $13.63 total) - Fabric Mart (unfortunately, this fabric is no longer available on this website since I bought it over a year ago 🙃).

Sizing

Based on my bust/waist/hip size of 36/29/40" and the size chart that Sinclair Patterns provides, I chose size 8 (mostly based on the hip measurement, since this is a skirt). I didn't even make a toile, so chef's kiss to Sinclair Pattern sizing!

I took in about 1/4" from both sides near the top half since there was a little bit of extra gaping.

Pattern Review

The pattern itself had everything I love from an independent pattern-maker; Adobe Reader layers, a grid of PDF page layout, only 32 pages to print (compared to 90+ pages on the last pattern I printed at home), well-illustrated instructions, great sizing!

There weren't too many markings to transfer, and overall it was easy to copy onto the fabric and cut out. I had some issues with matching up the notches when sewing (not so much along the top/waist, but more along the sides). But it turned out OK all things considered!

Lessons Learned

I've spent some amount of time standing and staring into a mirror trying to nitpick apart everything wrong with this spontaneous garment.

The thing I picked out was that I think the thickness of this fabric was not quite as thick as scuba fabric should be.

I think that if I used a thicker scuba fabric (or stabilized it with interfacing), it would behave better at those parts. I plan to do that next time I try this pattern.

Verdict

Overall it's a great skirt pattern, and I look forward to trying it again in another, heftier fabric — perhaps for autumn/winter. Since I'm not 100% that thicker fabric will fix the pulling issue I described, I might try some other pencil skirt patterns (perhaps even from Sinclair Patterns, since they have pencil skirts a-plenty!) before I circle around to this one.

Once in a while I treat myself to fancy fabric from a boutique store like Oak Fabrics. One of my earlier sewing projects was V9315 in a rayon challis that pressed so great, was so easy to work with, I was dying to have an occasion to sew with it again. It took nearly a year to get around to it, but I ended up buying more yardage, and was inspired to use it with a cute button-up McCall dress (also a first for me, since I'm not usually a button-up-dress sort of gal).

Materials & Supplies

• Rayon Challis in Bloom/Grey (2.5 yards; $17.95/yd; $44.88 total) - Oak Fabrics
• Interfacing

Sizing

I made a muslin to make sure I picked the correct size, and I think the size 12 was just about right. I had some weight gain/bloating in the time I was sewing this dress, so I think if I were to sew it again, I miiight go up a size just to have extra ease for a bra and not have tension/gaping at the top buttons.

Pattern Review

I purchased a digital/PDF version of this pattern and it was a whopping 91 pages to print out on my home printer. I appreciated that it was split out into 2 files, because I would not trust myself to assemble that many pages in a single block! I picked the simpler version of the pattern (the straps, rather than the sleeves), so I don't feel like there's a whole lot to review here.

I chose to do French seams since the fabric is fairly lightweight and I felt too lazy to thread my serger, however I think that made it more difficult to finish some of the elements that are finished later (like the straps and pockets). It was also my first time finishing pockets with French seams and that was a learning experience.

The markers that I usually use (and are supposed to be washable) did not want to wash off this fabric. A good reminder to always try any marking implement on scrap pieces whenever using a new combination of markers/fabrics.

I also had a little SNAFU with the buttons; I forgot that buttonholes should go on first, so I sewed on the buttons first, and then had to struggle to make sure the buttonholes lined up.

Buttons

I was delighted to have another opportunity to play with 3D-printed buttons!  I chose a wood-based filament (wood mixed with PLA plastic), and I think it ended up working great with the color of the fabric.

It took ~2 hours to print 9 buttons (which is relatively quick in the 3D-printing world), and I was able to play around with different heights and sizes.

Verdict

I'm still unsure if button-up dresses are "me", but overall I am happy with how this turned out, the friendliness of the pattern, and the behavior of the fabric! I would like to make this dress again in one of the other versions (the puffy sleeves look interesting, and would be fun to try).

Around this time last year, I got my Brother ST150HDH so I could help out in facemask sewing efforts, and after a few masks I decided to take the plunge with sewing garments.

My first garment was the Seamwork Orlando, which is a t-shirt pattern. I'm very glad I chose a Seamwork pattern because instructions were much more thorough and basic than many other indie patterns or any of the Big 4 patterns. Even with the extra instructions, I still ended up making many silly mistakes like not realizing I needed to flip the sleeve pattern piece and ended up with 2 right sleeves.

To celebrate my first year of sewing I decided to make this garment again (especially now that I have a serger), and marvel at the differences.

Some metrics from the year (5/2020 - 5/2021) for y'all data nerds:

And I also have some wisdom to impart...

Everything will feel unbearably slow at first. You will get faster.

If you are a sewing beginner and it feels like an eternity to trace, cut, press, just remember of the first time you learned some other skill — cooking, baking, gardening, heck — even cleaning. When you first start to do those things you feel like the slowest being on earth; it might take an hour just to do something simple like chop up vegetables. But the more time you spend on it, the faster you get, the easier those skills become. Sewing is no different. Pressing becomes second-nature, cutting out fabric pieces starts going by much faster as you gain confidence and practice.

Be Patient with Yourself

With the new skillset of sewing comes an entirely new vocabulary that sometimes makes sense (e.g. top-stitch) but sometimes it doesn't (e.g. ladder-stitch). And to make things extra fun, some of that vocabulary is regional (e.g. snaps vs. poppers, seam-ripper vs. unpicker).

My second-ever garment was an incredibly over-ambitious silk blouse from Style Arc (a pattern maker that provides very minimal instructions). That blouse turned out about as well as you'd expect; it's unwearable. I remember spending at least a few hours figuring out a) what the button placket was called and b) trying to find an instructional video for sewing it, as well as some other complicated elements like the sleeve cuffs. I ended up finding great resources I still rely on to this day, but the process of figuring out that the place where the buttons go is called the placket took a lot of time and was humbling.

No matter what level of perceived knowledge you come into sewing with, be patient with yourself, be open-minded, don't let yourself get frustrated with not knowing something, or not being able to find information on something. If you can, find a community that you can tap into for help and resources (whether it's Reddit, Discord, or a local sewing circle) - I've learned so many techniques and other things from fellow sewists, and the internet makes that easier than ever!

Perfection is the Enemy of the Good

There's a parable of a pottery teacher who splits their class up into two groups - one is instructed to make as many pieces as possible and will be graded on the number of pieces they created, while the other half of the class will be scored on the quality of the pieces. At the end of the semester, the "quantity" group ended up making the better pieces because they went through trial/failure rather than worrying about perfection.

In some of my earlier pieces there came a point where I knew the garment was messed up beyond repair. For example, I'd cut out a piece wrong and didn't have more fabric, or sewed it on backward using the serger and wasn't able to seam-rip and re-attach because part of the fabric has been cut off. There was quite a lot of failure pieces that I don't even include in the 34 total because they weren't remotely wearable.

As a recovering perfectionist, I understand how much it hurts to know your garment won't be "perfect", and it's hard to power through to finish it and make sure that I got the experience of finishing all parts of it, even if one (or more) part was messed up. But ultimately, that practice provided me a ton of value and helped make future garments better. So, stick with it, even if something isn't meeting your standards (I got a whole lot of other stuff to say about setting too high standards, but that's a blog post of its own).

Do you remember the first garment you made? Have you ever tried to re-make it? What advice do you have for beginner sewists? Leave a comment!